From Stage Performances to Soulful Studio Leadership with Amanda Bauman

Adrienne Garland (00:00:00)

Leadership isn't just changing. It's evolving in ways we're only just beginning to imagine. And women, we're not playing this game anymore. We're the ones reshaping the entire field, building models, movements, and businesses that serve more than just a few.

On the She Leads podcast, you'll hear real conversations with women who've broken through all kinds of barriers—revenue, identity, borders, and expectations. There's no sugar coating here, just the truth told by those who are living it.

I'm Adrienne Garland, entrepreneur, strategist, educator, and creator of live experiences, gathering women leaders together for over a decade. And this is the She Leads podcast.

Hi everybody and welcome back to the She Leads podcast. I am so excited to welcome my next guest. Her name is Amanda Bauman and she is the co-owner and founder of Core Connection. She's also a DJ and a singer songwriter and the creator of Groove Alchemy.

Amanda was introduced to me from a mutual friend, Angela. Hey Angela, shout out. And Amanda was the DJ at the She Leads Live LA conference back in April. So, I'm super excited to welcome her because since that time, she has opened the Core Connection Pilates studio and personal training. And so, she is a multi-passionate serial entrepreneur.

Movement has always been Amanda's medicine and her mission. And as the co-owner and founder of Core Connection, she brings more than 15 years of experience in personal training, Pilates and dance-based fitness to a space that's built around healing, strength, and soulful movement.

She's taught at beloved Los Angeles studios like Swerve and My Pilates Body, helping clients reconnect with their bodies through a wide range of modalities.

Amanda is a creative. She's worked in the music industry. She's a singer, songwriter, and DJ. And her love of music and dance has led her to create Groove Alchemy. It's a signature class that blends meditation, somatic movement, cardio dance, and her unique gift as a live DJ.

Welcome to the She Leads podcast, Amanda.

Amanda Bauman (00:01:45)

That was fun to hear all that.

Adrienne Garland (00:01:48)

It's amazing. And there's so much more to your story as well. And I can't wait to sort of dive in and know more.

So, I know that you have been struggling with a health condition. And it's an interesting conversation because just this past week or weekend at She Leads Live in New York City, we had a whole entire panel about different stages and different phases of our lives. And one of the women that was on the panel is suffering from an autoimmune condition as well.

And you know, truly, when our health is—you know, when we have business that is our own business and then we are the ones that are suffering with some of these health issues, it takes a real impact. It takes a toll on our business.

Amanda Bauman (00:02:41)

Oh yeah. Absolutely. I mean, health is everything in life. It affects our whole well-being obviously.

And the autoimmune—I have struggled with for—well, I'm in remission with mine, but when I did go through my health issues it was a huge experience of learning and growth of loving my body and learning how to just treat it differently.

I learned so much and it's bled into my understanding and empathy for other people that go through any kind of health issue really. But pain, if you have chronic pain, you have a different understanding and awareness because I've been through it.

Adrienne Garland (00:03:22)

So, let's go back. You started out in the creative realm in the music industry. Can you take us back in time to sort of how you started out and then how you grew into having your own DJ business and then how that has morphed into opening this new studio?

Amanda Bauman (00:03:39)

Absolutely. Yes. And number one, thank you for having me DJ the She Leads Media conference in LA. That was such an incredible day. It was so inspiring to be around all those women. I got so much out of that. I came out of there so elevated. So thank you again.

Adrienne Garland (00:04:02)

Oh, I love that.

Amanda Bauman (00:04:02)

Yeah. And you know, when I first moved to LA, I was very young. I was fresh out of college and my mom sort of was a drop out of college and she didn't really follow her passion. And I remember just being like, I got to really own my life and live it to its fullest purpose.

And I always knew how much I loved—I was drawn to acting. I was drawn to music. I was always into fitness. And when I came to LA, it just really helped me grow in all those fields and I sort of just stepped in. I just let myself go and learn and all the things that I sort of needed to find came to me in weird ways. Does that make sense?

Anyway, I was very passionate about music. I started working with somebody sort of just for fun and things opened up. Paths opened up in ways I would have never dreamed of. I was given many opportunities. I wrote lots of music with this person.

I was working in a bar at the time and one of the regulars there asked to hear my new music and right away he put my song on his TV show as the theme song and that opened up many doors for me. So I officially got a song licensed—a sync placement—and from that I was asked to write on a dub reggae album called Women in Dub and that took me to—yeah, it was just stuff that just lined up synchronistically.

And I toured with a reggae artist named Lee Scratch Perry for several years as a background vocalist. We did Coachella and big other big festivals around the country and it was just stuff I would have never seen coming.

I feel like my life has always been like that. I've sort of just trusted the process and things have just magically come together.

So around that time though, with the touring, I did start getting sick with the autoimmune stuff and then that took me into a different sort of path—two different things happening, like trying to do music but also dealing with health issues.

And around that time I also was getting involved in the fitness world. So I wanted to get out of bartending and that world and really put all my energy into more of a health-related field. I needed to support myself still in the freelance world.

Adrienne Garland (00:06:21)

Right, that made more sense. I mean, letting go of bartending made more sense for getting into the fitness business.

Did you at the time see yourself as somebody who was creating her own path, her own career as an entrepreneur, or did you really just feel like you were a creative who was pursuing different roles, different opportunities? Or did you start to think, well, wait a minute, how can I turn this into a business?

Amanda Bauman (00:06:56)

Yeah, I would say, you know, to be honest, I was still fairly young. I think when you're a creative type and I was trying to find my way in all these different paths, I wasn't so much focused on the entrepreneurial mindset. It was more of being in the artist mindset.

But as I've gotten older, I certainly have shifted more into that mindset for sure. I think I was just really being in the moment, enjoying touring and getting to understand the fitness world and also dealing with health issues. It was a lot sort of happening.

But it definitely has set the foundation for who I am now, which is like almost 12 years later—now opening this fitness studio Core Connection and creating my class Groove Alchemy. I think all these things that were happening back then are like—they were such teachable moments for me.

I mean, they were great gifts that I got to tour and get a song placed on a TV show and sort of be in my passion with music. But also the struggle with the health and going into fitness—they again, they set this foundation for who I am now. And I don't think I'd be who I am now if I hadn't gone through the health issues. Opening the studio wouldn't mean as much as it does, if that makes sense.

Adrienne Garland (00:08:14)

That makes a ton of sense.

Amanda Bauman (00:08:16)

Yeah. Yeah. I was just going to say that I want the studio to be a place for healing and we have meditation classes. We do the Groove Alchemy class to help people work through any emotional stuff that they're going through with somatic movement and music and meditation.

So anyway, yeah, I think it all feels like it's just built upon itself through life and the entrepreneurial spirit is certainly alive in me now in a way that it probably wasn't when I was a little younger.

Adrienne Garland (00:08:49)

Hey everyone. So for years I've been working with Dr. Kent and sending people in my network his way. He does so much impact work. What do I mean by that? Well, he helps people create books and podcasts and things like that. He even helps with this podcast behind the scenes.

Dr. Kent is my thought partner. Anyone listening knows that we all need to do what we can to get our thoughts, opinions, and voices out into the world and how important it is for women to invest in other women and for women to hire other women. I am all about that and you all know that.

But in this case, I think Dr. Kent is an exception. He's doing something really different via this new program that he's launched called the Genius Discovery program. So, he wants to work with people like me and like you who are impact driven.

Dr. Kent has an intensive program that goes for a month. He also has a three-month program where he figures out where you're headed with your brand, your business, your speaking, and your signature story as a thought leader. I've known Dr. Kent for a long time. So, believe me when I say that he has a ton of experience working with people that are looking to make an impact but might not know exactly how to approach that.

So, if you're interested in talking to him, you can go directly to talktokent.com or you can send me a DM on Instagram at sheleadsmedia or just shoot me an email over at hello@sheleadsmedia.com.

Adrienne Garland (00:10:10)

So, you founded Core Connection with someone else. How did that come to be? Because so many people that I speak to, there's sort of this dance that we do—like, we want someone to go into business with us because we don't want to do things alone.

And at the same time, you also have to have a deep understanding of whoever your co-founder is or multiple co-founders because you really have to have the same vision for the business in all aspects—the creative aspect of it, the business aspect of it.

So, how did you get together with your co-founder? How did that all come about?

Amanda Bauman (00:10:55)

Well, her name is Aiko Morrison and we actually worked at the studio beforehand. It was called My Pilates Body and we were just trainers together in the studio and friends.

And when the former owner of My Pilates Body needed to step down, we were like, we can't let this incredible space go. And also seeing another female-owned business potentially not make it. I mean, there's a lot going on in LA—the rents being high and people still recovering from the pandemic and small businesses and gyms and whatnot. So, we just were like, nope, we got to make this. We got to save it.

And, you know, my father passed away a couple years ago from cancer and that was a really tough time to go through with him. He did leave me some money and so I decided I'm going to take some of that money he left me and put it into this studio to really build a solid foundation for my future. I know he'd be so happy to see his money going towards this, but it just felt so right.

And if you would have—because this just happened so recently, just happened over the summer in June—it all went down. If you would have asked me this time last year if I saw myself where I am now, I'd say, you're crazy. Like, I don't know. But I'm so happy it did. Again, just things falling into place in the strange ways that they do.

But Aiko and I definitely sat down. We looked at the studio and we thought, you know what, we really want this to be a place for community, for women to connect. We want to have workshops. We want to make sure they're coming in and feeling safe at any age. It's not like some type of place where it's a scene to go to. It's a place to feel good in your body and to grow.

And it's a very special place. It has really good energy in the studio. Really got a lot of light, good high vibes.

Adrienne Garland (00:12:44)

It sounds so beautiful. And, you know, going from being the trainer, being the quote unquote technician, the person who's doing the work, to being the owner is a big shift in mindset, right?

Because you want to make sure that your vision is realized and at the same time you are able to look behind the scenes and see what all of the operational necessities are and all the expenses and all the insurance and everything that goes into actually running the business and keeping the lights on.

Has there been—you only started this up recently—has there been any moments where you said to yourself, wow, this is more than I sort of bargained for?

Amanda Bauman (00:13:30)

So far, I have not felt that way. I have felt really good about everything.

And I think we both realized—I don't think we would have taken it on if we felt like it was going to be too much to handle. I think we saw we already had a built-in clientele from the former studio which really helped. We have another person in there renting part of the space so that helps with the rent. Also, our landlord was very kind. He has been very reasonable with the rate of rent that he's charging us, which is really good.

And the space now—all these trainers that I've worked with in the past that we all got displaced from the pandemic, they're coming to the studio and they're bringing their people. It's just wonderful. I'm so excited. Some of these people are so talented, some of these teachers that I've worked with in the past. And so it's just drawing in the right people, the right energy to keep it moving in the right direction.

And I think, you know, again, we're only not even six months in, but I'm so excited to see what happens in 2026 because the summer was so fast to get everything moving and then we launched and here we are at sort of the end of the year, but it still feels like the momentum is there.

So, yeah, I feel really good about it. I really do.

Adrienne Garland (00:15:10)

I love it. I love it so much. I wish I was in California. Well, if I come visit, I will definitely come to the studio.

Amanda Bauman (00:15:18)

Yeah, I would love that.

Adrienne Garland (00:15:20)

And I apologize because I think that there happens to be a little bit of a delay on this conversation. So hopefully it's not too difficult for listeners to follow along.

But I just wanted to talk a little bit about the studio and then—you know, you are still pursuing your DJ work. Everything's coming together in the studio, but you're still pursuing your DJ work and your singing, your songwriting. How do you see that playing out for you in the future?

Amanda Bauman (00:15:53)

I'm so glad you asked that question because it's actually very alive in my life right now.

You know, I love DJing so much and I love seeing people dance and be joyful. I think it's those moments in life we forget how much we need to release, which is why I love Groove Alchemy.

And so I continue to work as a DJ. I just did the Soho House this past weekend. It was all throwback music. It was a huge crowd that came out and there's nothing better than sitting back and watching a room full of people just let loose and enjoy a great song from the past.

And then the space that I met you at—he's now brought me on as a DJ. So I'm there this Friday night, Florentine DTLA, downtown LA.

Adrienne Garland (00:16:35)

That's so awesome.

Amanda Bauman (00:16:37)

Yeah. And that's a great rooftop, beautiful space. So, it was a great little opportunity that opened a door for me there and that's a wonderful place to be.

So again, I love as a DJ to explore different genres of music and there's so much new music that's out right now. It's incredible. So I'm always discovering new stuff. I'm like, oh, I can't wait to mix that. And I just get very passionate about all of it.

And music is for me like my lifeblood. I love it along with fitness too. But I have written a huge body of music—lots of songs—and I'm exploring remixing all of them so that I can do a live DJ set of my own music as DJ tracks and sing along to them.

And I'm using the new AI apps like Suno to get in there and explore how I can remix this music. It's been an amazing tool for doing that. So I'm in the process of taking—I've probably written over 25 songs that have potential to be a great remix for DJing.

So, that's where I'm at with everything. I'm kind of exploring this new AI and hopefully by next year we'll have a live show up and running of my own music.

Adrienne Garland (00:17:46)

Wow, that is so exciting.

You know, as you were talking, I was thinking that the thread that seems to run throughout everything that you do really is about bringing people together and creating moments of joy. And I think that's so beautiful that you can do it through music, that you could do it through movement, through bringing together people in a physical space of your own, which is such a beautiful thing.

There really is nothing like being together with people in person, especially when you are all sort of rallied around the same type of thing and you have the same type of values.

I was just reading about—there's this concept of the fourth space now. So like, first space is your home, second place is work, third place is, you know, places like Starbucks or maybe it used to be. And now the fourth place is this new concept that a lot of gyms and a lot of studios are starting to embrace where it's not just about going somewhere—it's about who you are and what happens in that space. That you can be there for longer than a class, right?

And it sounds to me like that's what you're doing with your studio. You're bringing together people who have common values and you're creating workshops and classes and things to help people to grow.

Amanda Bauman (00:19:07)

Yes. Absolutely. Yeah.

And we did just create—we have a beautiful patio space out in front of our studio. So, we put this really beautiful setup of patio furniture and it looks out over the whole city of LA. So again, we were hoping to have a place where people could sit and relax or talk.

We are so busy in our lives with everything these days. Life feels like it moves so fast. So, to have a place where you can go and really drop into your body or connect with other people—I think it's so important.

So again, I'm glad we named the studio Core Connection. It has a double meaning to it for sure. And it's just—yeah, it's so important to have that fourth space like you just mentioned. I never heard that term, but I love it. I think that really applies here.

Adrienne Garland (00:19:54)

I never heard it either. I just read something about it the other day and I was like, oh, this is amazing.

And I'm really happy that we're sort of going in this direction because I do think that, you know, in so many ways technology—which I want to talk about, I want to touch on too—technology can connect us, right? We are now speaking to people—even what we're doing right here—we're now speaking to people that we might not have been able to speak to in the past. It connects us.

At the same time, it's also disconnecting us because we're so increasingly reliant on it. And so I feel like we were at one place, we went to the total opposite end of the spectrum, and hopefully we're now coming back to a more balanced place where we can use the technology tools for their purpose but not forget that human to human connection is really what's most important.

One other thing that I just wanted to mention and ask you about—I'm not sure if you know, and I feel like I mention it on every single podcast because it's such a big part of my life—but I actually teach at NYU and I teach entrepreneurship to graduate and undergraduate students.

And we always have them look out and see what's going on in the marketplace in the news and then relate it back to entrepreneurship, right? It just kind of gets us thinking and everything.

And there's a lot of students at NYU that take my class that are from some of the other schools like the Tisch School for the arts, the performing arts program, different things like that. So, there's a lot of really creative, amazing students, and we have these deep discussions about AI and is it taking away our creativity.

And you just mentioned before about how you're using it. I guess I would love for you to say exactly what it is that you're using it for because so many of these students are so afraid that AI is going to like annihilate creativity. I would love your hot take on that.

Amanda Bauman (00:21:49)

Yeah, I think it's a really important question. Really important.

I just had this conversation with my good friend Paul Zaski who is like the producer of Dubsonic Art, this dub reggae band that I toured with. He and I are longtime friends. We've created music, a lot of music together, and we did it the real way, the organic way. We wrote the lyrics, we wrote the melodies, we got in the studio with the instruments and made the songs from that perspective.

But we are also wanting to take some of the music and recreate it. And this tool, this AI tool has really opened the door. And it's not going away. That's the thing. AI is not going away.

So, I think we all have to make our own personal decisions on how we can use it to maybe better our lives. I think you can feel when something's inauthentic. AI can come across as inauthentic too.

If you're just using it as a person who just wants to have fun and play around with AI and create a song, great, you're going to create a song with it. But I think over time people are really going to hear, oh, that's an AI song. It's just got that vibe to it.

So maybe the counter reaction will be that musicians will really want to perform more live and get into the studio and make more organic music. So, I think there's always the counter reaction to everything. Whatever it evolves into, it's going to be fascinating to see, but we're on the precipice right now.

And I don't quite know, just speaking from the music industry standpoint, what that's going to be like. I think it's very challenging to see how quickly the AI creates the music—so quickly. It's like within 20 seconds it made two tracks of my music.

And I'm happy to know that I wrote these songs myself. They're all my lyrics. They're all my melodies. They came from a real studio. But I'm also fascinated by what the tool can do. And I just think this is where we're at.

So, it's probably going to be one of those things that as we move forward with it, what people decide they want to entertain and listen to, that's going to be, I think, fascinating for us to all watch.

Adrienne Garland (00:24:28)

Yeah, I agree. Everyone is sort of struggling trying to figure it out.

And I think if we kind of keep AI in its place, if you will, as a tool that can help to make things more efficient—or like maybe some of those things that you did in the past that really just took so much time that needed to get done, but they don't really have that creative element to it. Let AI do that. So you can maybe create more songs, right?

Amanda Bauman (00:24:55)

Definitely. I think if you're a musician and you do have standards for yourself, you'll use it as a tool and you'll still try to find a way to take what it gives you and then make it your own.

But to have it—I'm like, oh wow, how much longer would it have taken me to figure out how to make this a DJ remix? Hire a producer perhaps, or take a little time out of my life. Where now I've got this thing that's like, wow, here you go. Here's some really good ideas. I'm gonna try to take it and make it my own still.

But it really just leveled that up for me very fast. AI isn't going anywhere. It's here to stay. So, we're going to have to evolve with it and figure out our own relationship to it and use it in a good way, you know?

Adrienne Garland (00:25:47)

Yeah. I definitely have some students that are like, I'm not touching it with a 10-foot pole. I never—I don't want it at all. And then other students that are maybe even the opposite end of the spectrum, like, I'm using it to create everything.

And then I think the majority of people are sort of in between, like what you just said. It's so parallel to writing, right? You kind of feed it your ideas, give it some prompts, all of that stuff. It gives you something and then you take that and you say, oh, interesting, how can I modify this further?

It's very much an iterative process and if it can be almost like a thought partner or a music partner or a music producer, why not? As long as we don't let it sort of stop that creative process that we have—like when we're out walking and something comes to us—as long as we continue to cultivate that, I think we're going to be okay. At least for the time being, I think we're going to be okay.

Amanda Bauman (00:26:48)

I do too. I think we're all going to be okay.

We've had so many things happen to us as the human species over the past 20 years. The innovations of technology are moving fast. We've been through a pandemic. We're going through so much. But we have to stay—again, like part of the Core Connection—we have to stay connected to each other.

We have to be in each other's presence, have discussions like this. Like your students having these conversations are going to make us evolve through all of this because we're kind of in unprecedented times.

Adrienne Garland (00:27:31)

Oh my god, it's so crazy. Yeah.

And even just with environmental things happening and everything. It's like all of these events, whether they're natural or man-made—emphasis on the man. Just kidding.

They all remind us that we definitely need to know ourselves and we need to stay connected to others because it's really the only way that we're going to be able to get through it all and continue to maybe be happy, right?

So, Amanda, how can people that are listening that are in the LA area—where, you know, how do they go to the studio? How do they sign up for classes? And then how can people get in touch with you?

Because you're so multi-passionate and talented. I'm sure that there's lots of people listening that can give you more opportunities like they did at Florentine. It's so amazing.

Amanda Bauman (00:28:30)

Oh yes. That would be wonderful.

And the Core Connection—our Instagram is just core.connection.studio and that's also our website: coreconnection-studio.com. And then Instagram is the same.

And then my Instagram for music and DJing and all the stuff I release—all my personal music and DJ mixes—is amma.b.music.

And then also my Groove Alchemy page where I feature my class that I created, Groove Alchemy, is just groovealchemy. Those are both on Instagram.

Adrienne Garland (00:29:11)

I love it. Well, thank you so much. It has been a joy seeing you again and speaking with you and I've got to get out to LA again. I'm definitely taking one of your classes.

Amanda Bauman (00:29:22)

I would love that. And I will DJ your event again if you'll have me back. It was so much fun to be around all the inspiring women. So much good stuff happening out there with people making change. Thank you for having me.

Adrienne Garland (00:29:43)

Amazing. Thank you, Amanda.

Amanda Bauman (00:29:46)

Thank you.

Adrienne Garland (00:29:47)

If this conversation moved you, inspired you, or made you think differently, please take a moment to leave a five-star rating and review. It's not just about boosting the show. It's about amplifying the voices of women entrepreneurs who are leading with vision, building with purpose, and shaping what's next.

We need more of these conversations in the world right now, don't you think?

And if someone came to mind while you were listening, someone who matters to you, send this episode to them. If there's something on your mind about leadership, legacy, or what's next, I want to hear it. Head to sheleadsmedia.com/voice and leave a voice memo or note. Your insight might just help shape a future episode.

Make sure to follow the show and come back next week for more conversations you won't hear anywhere else. Thank you so much for listening.